GIS and Remote Sensing in Hydrology, Water Resources and Environment (Proceedings of ICGRHWE held at the Three Gorges Dam, China, September 2003). IAHS Publ. 289, 2004, 343-352

1 School of Ecology and Environment, Deakin University, PO BOX 423, Warrnambool, Victoria 3280, Australia

2 CRC for Tropical Savannas Management, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia

Abstract Estimation of nutrient load production based on multi-temporal remotely sensed land-use data for the Glenelg-Hopkins region in southwest Victoria, Australia, is discussed. Changes in land use were mapped using archived Landsat data and computerized classification techniques. Land-use change is unparalleled in recent history, with 13% of the region transformed in the last decade. Total nitrogen and phosphorus loading were estimated using an export coefficient model. The analysis demonstrated a disturbing increase in nitrogen and phosphorus loadings from 1995 to 2002. Whilst such increases were suspected from past anecdotal and ad-hoc evidence, our modelling quantitatively estimated such increases and thus demonstrated the enormous potential of using remote sensing and GIS for monitoring land-use change and hence improve land-use management.

Key words GIS; land-use mapping; pollutant load modelling; remote sensing